1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid handling assembly and, more particularly, to a fluid valve removably attached to a strut or setter assembly.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Fluid valves generally each include a main body having two ends. The main body also forms an internal flow cavity that fluidly connects the two ends and houses internal valves. In a typical installation, one end of the main body is connected to a fluid inlet pipe and the other end is connected to a fluid outlet pipe. Fluid flows from the fluid inlet pipe, through the internal flow cavity, is stopped, directed, or left unimpeded by the internal valves, and exits through the fluid outlet pipe. Examples of fluid valves include backflow prevention valves (i.e., double check and reduced pressure principle valves), or other types of valves, such as those generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,647,873; 2,586,942; 4,080,980; 4,357,954; 4,469,122; 4,893,654; 5,031,661; 5,226,441; 5,385,166; 5,404,905; and 5,503,176.
Some fluid valves have movable parts, such as independently acting internal reciprocating check valves, positioned in the internal flow cavity formed by a main body. An inlet shutoff valve, or some other member, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,969,432; 3,245,257; 3,946,754; 4,327,760; 5,392,803; 5,511,574; and 5,732,744, is typically positioned adjacent one end of the main body, and an outlet shutoff valve is positioned adjacent the other end of the main body. In turn, each shutoff valve is connected, respectively, to the fluid inlet pipe or the fluid outlet pipe. The shutoff valves are required for testing and service of the backflow prevention valve.
Because the shutoff valves are historically connected to the fluid inlet and outlet pipes by male-female threaded connections, the fluid inlet and outlet pipes extend into each corresponding shutoff valve. Therefore, removing the main body means disrupting or cutting the fluid inlet and fluid outlet pipes. For this reason, the main body usually has access covers, which permit access to the internal components once the valve is installed.
There are, however, at least three related drawbacks to using access covers. First, access covers only provide limited access to the internalized parts, particularly since the access covers are smaller than the overall size of the main body. Second, because the main body is left in place during servicing or inspection, locating and reinstalling the access covers may be cumbersome, if not impossible, depending on the location of the main body with respect to other objects, such as neighboring plumbing or subfloors. Lastly, each time an access cover is removed, there is a risk that a faulty seal could develop during reinstallation, causing fluid leaks.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to allow removal of the main body of the fluid valve for repair, inspection, or replacement without requiring access covers and without disrupting adjacent piping.
The present invention generally includes a modular strut and a valve. The valve is removably connected to the modular strut, forming a fluid handling assembly.
The modular strut has an inlet body, an outlet body, and one or more spacers. The inlet body forms a force member receiving surface and a fluid inlet channel. The outlet body forms a fluid outlet channel and a valve body receiving surface. Each spacer is connected to the inlet body and the outlet body, separating the inlet body from the outlet body. The spacers are each removably connected to the inlet body and the outlet body by a fastener or, alternatively, each spacer is integrally formed with the inlet body and the outlet body. In this second instance, the spacers themselves can be removably connected to one another by a fastener.
The modular strut receives a removable valve to form the fluid handling assembly. The removable valve includes a valve body having a first end, a second end, and forming an internal flow channel. The removable valve is preferably not a stand-alone type of valve, so the modular strut provides the necessary connection fittings.
A mount, having a first mount surface, a second mount surface, and forming an orifice, is positioned between the first end of the valve body and the inlet body of the modular strut. A force member, positioned between the inlet body and the mount, holds the mount and the valve in place. With the force member installed, the second mount surface of the mount exerts force on the first end of the valve body. In turn, the first end of the valve body is fluidly sealed against the second mount surface of the mount, and the second end of the valve body is fluidly sealed against the valve body receiving surface formed by the outlet body.
One method of changing a valve that is part of a fluid handling assembly including a valve and a modular strut is described below. The modular strut has an inlet body, an outlet body, a pair of spacers adapted to connect the inlet body and the outlet body, a force member positioned adjacent to the inlet body and forming a third orifice, and a mount forming an internally-threaded orifice. The mount is positioned adjacent to the force member. An eternally-threaded member is threadedly received by the internally-threaded orifice in the mount. The method includes the steps of:
a. rotating the externally-threaded member in a first direction to loosen the eternally-threaded member;
b. removing the force member;
c. moving the mount in a direction toward the inlet body of the modular strut;
d. removing the valve from the modular strut;
e. inspecting the valve;
f. positioning the valve between the inlet body and the outlet body of the modular strut;
g. moving the mount in a direction toward the first end of the valve body;
h. positioning the force member between the inlet body of the modular strut and the mount; and
i. rotating the externally-threaded member in a second direction to tighten the eternally-threaded member.
When the force member and mount are removed, the valve can be removed from the modular strut for installation, replacement, or repair without significantly disrupting adjacent or attached piping. Moreover, because the valve is completely removable from the modular strut, an additional benefit is that access to internal valve components, such as reciprocating check valves in backflow prevention valves, is available without the need of separate access covers in the valve body.
In sum, the benefits of the present invention include the ability to quickly and easily gain access to the internal components of the valve body without the need for access covers.
These and other advantages of the present invention will be clarified in the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments taken together with the attached drawings in which like reference numerals represent like elements throughout.